South Korea is on course to record $1 trillion in exports in a single year for the first time, after preliminary customs data showed shipments hit a record $33.46 billion in the first 10 days of November. Cumulative exports for 2026 now stand at $963.7 billion, just $36.3 billion short of the milestone, Aju Press reported on Wednesday 11 November.

The early-November figures, released by the Korea Customs Service, showed exports up 111.9 percent from a year earlier, the strongest ever for the 1-10 November window. Imports rose 45.0 percent to $24.71 billion over the same period, leaving a trade surplus of $8.75 billion, compared with a $1.24 billion deficit a year earlier.

Semiconductors drive the surge

Semiconductors were unquestionably the engine of the increase. Chip exports for 1-10 November soared 331.2 percent from a year earlier to $16.6 billion, the highest ever for the period and the fastest growth among all product categories, according to the customs data reported by BigGo.

Chips accounted for roughly half of South Korea's total exports in the 10-day period, reflecting booming global demand for the memory chips used in artificial intelligence data centres. The surge builds on October, when chip exports rose 259.4 percent to $56.44 billion and made up 49 percent of the month's total exports, Reuters reported.

$1 trillion milestone in sight this month

If the current daily export pace holds, South Korea is expected to cross the $1 trillion annual export mark for the first time around 20 November. Cumulative exports are up 62.0 percent on the same point last year.

October exports rose 93.7 percent year on year to $115.28 billion, the sharpest gain since January 1974, and South Korea's industry minister has said it is becoming certain the $1 trillion milestone will be reached within November. Only a small group of countries has ever passed $1 trillion in annual exports.

What it means for South Korea's economy

The export boom is powered overwhelmingly by large technology firms, and officials have cautioned that smaller businesses are not sharing equally in the gains. Third-quarter data from the National Data Office and Korea Customs Service showed the top 10 exporters accounted for 60.9 percent of exports, up sharply from 40.5 percent a year earlier.

Even so, the headline figures underline how central semiconductors have become to South Korea's economy. With AI infrastructure spending still rising worldwide, the customs data suggest the country will end 2026 as one of the world's biggest exporters, carried almost single-handedly by its chipmakers.